


I Think We Should Have Sex

by ThatRavenclawBitch



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fluffapalooza 2016, Friends to Lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-12
Updated: 2016-02-12
Packaged: 2018-05-19 23:47:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,817
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5985184
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatRavenclawBitch/pseuds/ThatRavenclawBitch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mr. Gold and Belle have been friends for years. But when she makes an unexpected proposition, it could change things between them forever.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I Think We Should Have Sex

“I think we should have sex.”

It wasn’t a sentence Simon Gold was likely to hear from anyone, much less from the beautiful Belle French as they picked at the remains of Chinese takeout in his living room one Wednesday evening. In fact, it was delivered in such a matter of fact way that it was a moment before Gold realized what she had said. Once the words fully registered, he almost choked on his tongue. 

It wasn’t that he hadn’t thought about it, of course. One couldn’t spend the sheer amount of time in close proximity to the lovely Miss French that he did and _not_ think about it. But those thoughts were best left pushed to the back of his mind, only pulled out and inspected late at night under cover of darkness when his loneliness would push him toward the bottle of whisky in his cupboard and he’d succumb to pretty dreams that would never be reality only to feel guilt about the whole thing the next morning when he realized he’d thoroughly abused himself to the image of his best friend.

And that’s what Belle was, his very closest friend. To imagine her as anything else was an insult to the friendship that he prized so very much.

“Why?” he asked, the word tumbling over his lips before he could even have a conscious thought.

For her part, Belle didn’t seem insulted by his question.

“Well, you like me, right?” she asked, pausing to look to him for confirmation. Gold could do nothing but nod numbly. There was no one else in town he would allow to sit cross-legged at his coffee table and prod at a carton of lo mein with chopsticks. He liked her better than anyone he’d ever met. He a fair bit more than liked her though he’d never in a million years own up to it.

“And I like you too,” Belle continued, oblivious to the whirlwind currently blowing through Gold’s mind. “And neither of us is ever particularly lucky in love, and could probably use a little release. And I think our friendship is strong enough to survive this. So, what do you think?”

It was clear Belle had thought this through, her reasoning tripping over her tongue with ease. But for his part, Gold couldn’t fathom why. She was beautiful, young, brilliant, could have any man she wanted. He was confused enough that she seemed to find his friendship desirable. For her to want anything more seemed beyond the pale.

Belle had been a fixture in his life for the better part of the past two years. It started innocently enough. She’d come in to his shop a few weeks after she’d moved to Storybrooke to take over the flagging local library. He’d never forget the way she looked standing in the doorway and shuffling her feet nervously. But then she’d steeled her spine, walked right up to the counter and thrust her hand out to shake his. No one in this silly little town had ever shown half the backbone that Belle French did and he’d been intrigued. He’d let his guard down just a bit and shaken her proffered hand instead of staring at it with disdain as he’d have done to anyone else. After five minutes conversation she’d declared that she didn’t understand why the whole town had warned her off him and departed with a smile. He’d known in that very instant that he’d made a terrible mistake. But when Belle showed up the next morning with 2 cups of Granny’s coffee in hand and continued to do so every weekday since, he couldn’t find it in himself to care.

“But why?” he asked again, responding once more to the declaration hanging in the air between them.

Belle blinked at him.

“I just explained…”

“Yes, but why me? Certainly there are any number of more desirable partners in this town.”

Belle wrinkled her nose at him. “Name one,” she challenged. 

This certainly wasn’t a game Gold wanted to play, naming out all the younger, taller, more handsome men in town that would be infinitely more deserving to share Belle’s bed. In truth there was no one in town he could think of that was good enough for her, himself included.

“David Nolan,” he heard himself spit out the first name that came to him.

Belle just rolled her eyes. “Engaged to Mary-Margaret Blanchard. I’m no home wrecker.”

“Will Scarlet,” he offered up instead, kicking himself for the suggestion. He knew for a fact Mr. Scarlet was not only single, but quite close to Belle. Why was he doing this again? 

“You want me to have sex with Will Scarlet?” Belle asked dubiously.

“Not particularly,” he conceded. He most definitely did not want Belle to have sex with Will Scarlet in actual fact.

“Do you want to have sex with Will Scarlet?” she asked, narrowing her eyes at him from her perch on the floor.

“Absolutely not!” he exclaimed indignantly. Is that what this was about? Was she trying to divine his sexuality? It was true that he’d been a confirmed bachelor for as long as he’d lived in Storybrooke. Were there rumors she was trying to sniff out? And if so, why not just come out and ask him? It wasn’t as though Belle hadn’t been direct with him in the past.

“Belle, I’m not…” he began, only to notice she’d forced her lips together holding in a laugh. “You’re making fun of me,” he realized.

Belle just shook her head. “You make it too easy,” she said, pulling her knees up against her chest and wrapping her arms around them. “But as neither of us want to sleep with Will Scarlet, why are we still talking about him?”

Gold shrugged. “You’re the one who told me to name names.”

“And a piss poor job you did of it too,” Belle scolded. “Clearly there’s no one better than you so why question it?”

He was stunned into silence for a moment. Belle was serious. She wanted to have sex with him, her friend, just as friends. What did the kids call that these days? Fuck buddies? Gold wrinkled his nose at the term.

This should have been a no brainer. Belle – perfect, beautiful, incredible Belle – wanted him. But something in him rebelled at the idea. It was everything he’d always wanted and nothing at the same time. It might very well be the closest thing he would ever have to Belle’s love, but somehow it wasn’t enough.

“You think we should have sex?” he repeated her words, still barely believing them to be true.

“I think we should have sex,” Belle agreed. “What’s a little fooling around between friends? I absolutely promise it won’t be weird. If it seems like it’s going that way, we can call the whole thing off and never talk about it again. What do you think?”

It would be so easy to say yes, to whisk her upstairs to his bedroom and live out every fantasy he’d had over the past two years ever since that first day in his shop. It would be so easy to succumb, to have this night, to have the memory to keep him warm for all the long lonely nights that would follow. Because no matter what Belle said about her own pitiful love life, she would eventually find someone who struck her fancy, someone she saw as more than just a friend and sometimes sexual partner. Someone she could love. And then he would be left behind in the cold, his heart shattered beyond remedy.

It would kill him.

“No,” he said finally.

“Oh,” Belle exclaimed, looking crestfallen. A moment later a blush had stained her cheeks, her head dropping in shame. “Oh. I’m so sorry. I suppose I thought there was a mutual attraction but I guess I was wrong.”

She was wringing her hands now, her eyes refusing to meet his.

“Stupid, stupid Belle,” she continued, fidgeting and staring at the carpet. “I’m sorry for ever suggesting it. Here I am going on and on and you’re not the least bit interested.”

Gold was still hung up on her admission of ‘mutual attraction’ but Belle’s complete and total humiliation dragged him back into the moment.

“No, sweetheart,” he interrupted. “You misunderstand me.”

Belle looked up at him at long last, her eyes wary. 

“You’re not attracted to me,” she said simply as if such a thing were even possible. Gold had to keep himself from snorting at how completely wrong her assumption was.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” he scoffed.

“But you don’t like me,” she continued. “Not in that way.”

“I assure you that’s not true,” he said, unable to allow her to think the alternative no matter how much pain it might spare him in the long run.

“Then what’s the problem?” she asked confusedly, sitting up on her knees and fixing her clear, blue eyes on him. “Do you not like sex?”

“I like sex.”

“So you like me, you like sex, I’m offering, and your answer is still no?”

“Yes,” he agreed with her summation of the situation.

“You’re an enigmatic man, Gold,” she said with a smile that was a bit too brittle. He was making her uncomfortable with his non-answers, but he couldn’t just come out and tell her the true reason why he was saying no.

“So I’ve been told,” he said sadly. This was all about to end. The most important relationship in his life was going to be forever altered and there was nothing he could do to stop it. It felt as though he were on a track headed toward certain doom with no way to get off the train.

“One of your many charms,” Belle said a little awkwardly, still fidgeting with her hands in her lap. “But never mind. I said if it started to get weird we could pretend it never happened. You don’t need a reason to say no. I’m not gonna push it.”

There was a moment of tense silence as Gold stared at Belle and Belle stared at her hands. In all the months of their friendship, those conversations over coffee, lunches at Granny’s, take out on the floor of his living room, they’d never had an awkward silence. It was starting to make Gold sweat beneath his collar, his heart thudding uncomfortably in his chest.

“Should we see what’s on the telly?” Belle finally asked, breaking the silence with feigned brightness. He could tell she was feeling just as unsure about things as he was. Her cheeks were still pink, her eyes suspiciously bright. She was nervous, unsure of herself in a way he’d never seen her before. But she wasn’t going to run away. No, Belle refused to be intimidated, always forging on bravely. It was one of the things that had made him fall in love with her. 

“Belle,” he began slowly, unable to bear her being embarrassed on his account. “The reason we can’t do this is because it wouldn’t mean the same thing to you that it would to me. And that wouldn’t be fair to either of us.”

Belle sat up further on her knees, kneeling in front of his place on the sofa. She was almost eye level with him, so close he could reach out and touch her.

“What do you mean?” she asked, her eyes suddenly concerned. 

Gold swallowed nervously. He couldn’t put this off any longer. He had to tell the truth.

“You proposed this arrangement because you think our friendship is strong enough to survive it,” he said slowly. “But I know for a fact that, at least on my side, it wouldn’t survive. I pride our friendship far too much to risk that.”

Belle cocked her head to the side for a moment looking confused.

“Oh,” She said after a moment. “ _Oh,_ ” she continued as if his meaning had dawned on her. It was Gold’s turn to hang his head in shame. He’d just all but admitted he was hopelessly in love with the only person in his life who’d ever shown him the least bit of kindness. Now she would leave, turn away, not wanting to be burdened with such an undesirable thing as his heart.

“I’m sorry,” he said, unsure of just what he was apologizing for; refusing her or the unwanted feelings he had for her.

“No,” Belle said with a shake of her head. “Nothing to be sorry for.”

If he thought his admission would clear up Belle’s embarrassment, he was sorely mistaken. She seemed even more flustered than before.

“I…I should go,” she stuttered out, standing up and beginning to gather the refuse from their dinner.

“Don’t bother with the mess,” he pleaded. He couldn’t bear the thought of Belle cleaning up before she walked out of his life forever. “I’ll take care of it.”

“Don’t be silly, it’s the least I can do,” she said, her voice unnaturally high as she all but ran to the kitchen, arms full of empty take out containers and dirty napkins. Gold let his head drop into his hands, not bothering to follow after her.

He could hear the sink running in the kitchen, Belle’s shuffling footsteps ringing out against the tile floor. He closed his eyes, focusing on her presence in his home for potentially the last time. 

“I’ll see you around,” he heard Belle’s voice from the doorway, still not risking opening his eyes. He didn’t want the image of Belle leaving branded to his eyelids to relive every time he closed them. “Goodbye, Simon.”

There was a long pause before he heard her footsteps heading for the front hall, the door closing finally behind her.

* * *

Belle wasn’t waiting for him outside the shop with coffee in hand the next morning. He hadn’t really expected her to be. If he’d left well enough alone perhaps she would have shown up, that brittle smile still in place and holding fast to the idea that they could forget what she had propositioned the night before and carry on as things had always been. But instead he had to go and open his big fat mouth, burdening Belle with information she hadn’t wanted.

Belle had waited outside the shop for him with coffee every weekday morning since they’d met. Eventually he’d gone over to Granny’s, opening a running tab to cover the cost. The only times she’d failed to turn up were when she’d had the flu a few months back and one morning when she’d had an early delivery of books at the library. He didn’t imagine she’d show up again.

They were friends, best friends, and he’d ruined that. He felt a glimmer of anger at Belle for her part in this as well. Why would she ever propose such a ridiculous arrangement? Was she really that hard up for sex that she’d come to him? She had to know, had to have some inkling of what he felt for her.

A ridiculously hopeful part of his brain that he thought had died out long ago whispered that perhaps it had been a test. Maybe she’d been testing the waters, seeing what his reaction would be. But if that were the case, he’d certainly failed.

His day only got worse from there. He resented every person who came in the shop for not being Belle leading him to be shorter with his customers than usual. Between customers he found himself staring out the front windows of his shop at the library across the street for any sign of Belle. When several hours passed without so much as a glimpse, he smashed in the front of one of his display cases, immediately regretting the decision when broken glass littered the floor necessitating he either clean up or close for the day.

The latter option was more appealing, and he headed home in the early afternoon. 

By early evening he’d worked his way through his liquor cabinet and into a nice stupor. It would be hard adjusting back to loneliness. Belle had managed to help stave it off for a while, but he should have known her presence in his life would be fleeting. No one ever managed to stay with him for long.

His maudlin reverie was interrupted by a sharp knock on his front door. Gold couldn’t imagine who would be calling on him, but he welcomed the distraction, hoping yelling at the interloper would cheer him up somewhat.

The sight of Belle on his front steps sobered him up at once. She had her jacket wrapped tightly around her small form, a smile in place that didn’t quite reach her eyes.

“Hey,” he managed after a moment of tense silence.

“You weren’t at the shop,” she said quietly.

“Closed early,” he returned. “Perks of being your own boss.”

Belle nodded, her smile slipping into more of a grimace.

“Can I come in?” she asked finally. Gold mentally kicked himself for making her stand out in the cold and moved aside so she could pass by him into the house.

“Can I get you anything?” he asked, following her into the living room. “Something to drink?”

Belle just shook her head, keeping her arms firmly wrapped around herself. Gold had nothing more to say. He wasn’t sure why Belle had shown up in the first place. When she left so suddenly the night before he was positive she’d never want to speak to him again.

Things had never been this tense between them. Belle was the one person in this godforsaken town he’d always been able to talk to. But now that seemed ruined for good.

“Are you hungry…”

“I never meant to make things awkward between us,” she blurted out, spinning around to face him, her eyes filled with worry and perhaps a few tears.

“Belle,” he began, only for her to cut him off again.

“I’m so, so sorry,” she said with a shake of her head. “I realize you don’t feel the same way I do about you and you’re trying to spare my feelings and I love that about you. But I’m fine with us just being friends. Today was the worst day of my life not seeing you and thinking that I’d ruined what we have.”

Gold felt like his head was screwed on wrong, suddenly wondering if perhaps he’d had more to drink that he’d originally thought. Clearly he was having some sort of fit. Because there was no way Belle was saying what he thought she was saying.

“What?” he managed to get out. 

“I just feel so silly,” Belle continued, the words spilling out of her. “I like you, Simon. I like spending time with you. I think you’re funny and interesting and smart. And I’m attracted to you too. Somehow I thought I could keep those two things separate because I thought that’s what you wanted. But something cracked. I decided that I wanted you and if friendship was all we’d ever have, maybe we could add this extra little element to it and still maintain the status quo. But that was stupid of me and I should have just been honest with you.”

“Honest?” Gold asked, still stunned by what he was hearing. What exactly was Belle trying to say? 

“That I wanted more,” she admitted, biting her lip. “That I want you to ask me out on a real date. That I want to go to dinner and have you hold my hand and kiss me goodnight at the end of it. That I want you to invite me to stay the night after we have takeout on Wednesdays. But after two years, you never have. So I figured I’d make a bold move and see what happened.” 

Gold shook his head, confused.

“Then why did you run out last night?” he asked. It made no sense. “Why didn’t you show up for coffee this morning?”

Belle just blinked at him. “Because you admitted last night that you didn’t want any of that. You just want to be friends and I screwed everything up. It’s all my fault that I’ve lost you. But I can’t bear to think about not having you in my life. You’re too important to me.”

Then Gold did the unimaginable. He laughed. 

Belle looked startled by his outburst, but once it started he couldn’t stop. It was all a terrible misunderstanding. They wanted the exact same thing but were both too pigheaded to realize it. 

“There’s no need to be cruel,” Belle spat, her eyes flashing angrily.

Gold shook his head, his laughter increasing at the continued misconception.

“You’ve got it all wrong, sweetheart,” he finally managed, wrangling in his mirth. But he could hardly contain the joy bubbling up within him. “You haven’t lost me. I thought I’d lost you.” 

Now it was Belle’s turn for confusion. “What?”

Gold smiled at her, a real, wide smile the likes of which he couldn’t remember ever crossing his face.

“I’m in love with you,” he said, shocking himself with his own honesty. “I thought you knew that.”

“No,” Belle replied with wide eyes. “Didn’t know.” 

“Well now you do,” he said with a decisive nod of his head.

“So last night,” Belle puzzled out, “when you said that sex wouldn’t mean the same thing to me as it would to you, you meant it would mean more to you.”

“Yes,” he agreed. “Because I love you and I knew I wouldn’t be able to separate my feelings for you from the act like I thought you wanted.”

“Oh,” Belle said, her breathing heavy as though she’d just run a marathon. “Okay, I guess I misunderstood.”

“I’ll say.” 

“So we actually want the same thing,” she said with a small smile.

“It would appear so.”

“Well, that’s good then.”

“It’s wonderful,” he agreed.

Belle crossed the living room tentatively as though he might disappear at any moment. When she reached him, she lifted a hand to cup his cheek and Gold let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding.

“I think you should kiss me,” she said, her voice little more than a whisper.

He still couldn’t believe this was real, that it wasn’t some drunken hallucination. But Belle’s hand was warm against his cheek. And when he let his hands drop to her waist and pull her closer toward him, she was real and solid beneath his palms. And when he kissed her it was even better than his dreams. 

Belle pulled away breathlessly after a moment, winding her arms around his neck and trailing her fingertips through his hair. 

“Simon?” she said, her eyes lighting up with a mischievous gleam.

“Yes, Belle?” he returned.

“I think we should have sex.”

And Gold couldn’t think of single reason why they shouldn’t.


End file.
